"Art Made Tongue-Tied By Authority": Expression, Suppression, and Censorship

Conference date: Friday September 21 ­ Saturday September 22, 2007Place: Department of English, University of OttawaDeadline for proposals: June 1, 2007Contact: uottawa.conference_at_gmail.com

According to playwright Eugene O'Neill, "Censorship of anything, at anytime, in any place, on whatever pretence, has always been and always will bethe last resort of the boob and the bigot." Censorship continues to be amajor impediment to freedom of speech in literature, music, and visual andother arts. Indeed, for every act of artistic expression there seems to bean opposing act of artistic suppression.

Why have artistic works been censored throughout history, and why, incountries that pride themselves on freedom of speech like Canada and theU.S., do they continue to be? Have the reasons for censoring texts changedover history, or do they remain essentially the same? Who exactly are the"boob[s] and bigot[s]" that censor texts? Are there instances whereO'Neill's characterization of the censor is too narrow-minded or eveninappropriate? Are there cases where censorship is appropriate orjustifiable? Can suppression act as an influence for creative expression orre-presentation?

The Third Annual University of Ottawa English Graduate Conference invitesgraduate student papers that deal with the censorship of texts (books,films, music, visual arts, advertisements, etc.) in "any time, in any place,[and] on whatever pretence."

Possible topics for consideration include (but are certainly not limitedto):

* Individual authors/artists who have been censored* Censored/Banned/Burned Texts* Taboo subjects/words* Mechanisms of censorship (i.e. how it is implemented and enforced, and howthese have changed over time)* Censorship in the cause of political correctness* The teaching of controversial literature and banned books* The censoring of children's literature (high school libraries, etc.)* Censorship of/and History (ie. Holocaust denial, history textbooks, warletters)* Anti-censorship campaigns (ie. Canada's "Freedom to Read" Week)* Censorship and Technology (internet, television, computer games, etc.)* Censorship of the body* The recovery of repressed or suppressed texts (religious texts, Aboriginalwriting, etc.)* Censorship and minority groups* Journalistic censorship (Pamphlet wars, media control and ownership, etc.)* Self-Censorship* "bleeping" in music and television* Censorship after 9/11 (journalism, film, etc.)* Positive aspects of censorship (i.e., J.M. Coetzee: "there may even becases where external censorship challenges the writer in interesting ways orspurs creativity.")

Submission Guidelines

Please email a 250 to 300 word abstract and a short biographical statementto uottawa.conference_at_gmail.com by June 1, 2007. Papers should be 15-20minutes in length. Please specify if you require any A/V equipment.